Monday: Respect Life Meeting, 40 Days for Life in Lent

God’s people are called to fight for the God-given rights of every human being – from the unborn child to the prisoner on death row. Getting engaged in the work of justice, in the light of Christ, is a way to examine our own sinful negligence and prepare our hearts for the happiness of Easter.

The next Parishioners for Life meeting is Monday, Feburary 8th, 7:00 pm in the Saint Agnes Parish Center.

Please join us. If you are interested in helping with our work, but can’t make the meetings, please e-mail saparishforlife@gmail.com so we can keep you informed of local pro-life activities.

How can we be PRO-life every day?

By maintaining a positive attitude towards others,

appreciating the unique person that God has created in each individual,

reaching out in kindness and compassion,

praying for the unborn, disabled and elderly,

and giving alms to the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable in our society.

“Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me."
Matthew 25:40

Baby Shower for the Unborn

A huge thank you for the donations to the annual baby shower to help unborn children and their mothers! The Pregnancy Help Office of the Archdiocese of Boston received a van full of needed baby items and over $1,500 was donated to the Fund for the Unborn. Thank you so much for all of your donations. We are so blessed to be part of such a kind and generous parish community. Thank you!

40 Days for Life Boston – Lenten Campaign

The next 40 Days for Life Boston campaign will begin on Ash Wednesday and continue through Lent. Saint Agnes will be committing to at least an hour each week during Lent. The day and time to be determined. Please e-mail saparishforlife@gmail.com for more information or call Eileen Cahill (617-335-8455).

The Boston Prayer Launch for the 40 Days for Life campaign is Saturday, February 6th at 6 pm at Betania II in Medway. There will have Mass celebrated by Rev. Michael McNamara, followed by speaker Catherine Adair, former worker at Planned Parenthood, and refreshments and fellowship to end the evening. Please RSVP to annie40days@gmail.com or call 781-769-5398. Please join us. There is no cost for this event.

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LOCAL Natural Family Planning

Attention Married Couples! Would you like…

• a natural, hormone-free way to postpone pregnancy?
• to start a family or have another child?
• to improve communication with your spouse?
• to learn more about church teaching on "the Theology of the Body?"
• to understand why the Bishops, Little Sisters of the Poor, and so many others have fought the HHS mandate? 

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an organic, chemical-free method that is just as effective (99%) as the Pill at postponing pregnancy, and nearly twice as effective as IVF for achieving pregnancy. The divorce rate among couples that practice NFP is less than 2%.

Do you want to learn more? Josh and Meredith Phelps are certified teachers of a 3-class NFP series offered in our locale! For sign-ups, details, or questions about dates, please email Meredith.Phelps@gmail.com.

For more information about NFP available from the diocese, you can checkout this webpage, or this brochure.

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Project Rachel

Project Rachel is a confidential Catholic outreach ministry offering healing, compassion and hope to women and men hurting from an abortion experience. People are available to listen, to answer questions, to pray for you, and to help in any way. Project Rachel can help begin the experience of forgiveness, freedom and peace waiting for you in the tender embrace of God’s love and mercy. The phone number for Project Rachel is 508-651-3100, email is help@ProjectRachelBoston.com, and the website is www.ProjectRachelBoston.com.  All inquiries are confidential.

“All life has inestimable value even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.”

-Pope Francis-

Wednesday: Explore Laudato Si!

It's a New Year!  What is new for you?  God can renew and refresh all of His creation, making "all things new" (Revelations, chapter 5).  Pope Francis is reminding us that as Christians, there's no time like the present to cast off our old selves and begin anew.  Continuing with our weekly excerpts of the pope's most recent encyclical, "Laudato Si" is posted here - so that we can all learn, digest, pray and discern one snippet at a time.  Come Holy Spirit, teach us and guide us, and may Your Will be done!

59. At the same time we can note the rise of a false or superficial ecology which bolsters complacency and a cheerful recklessness. As often occurs in periods of deep crisis which require bold decisions, we are tempted to think that what is happening is not entirely clear. Superficially, apart from a few obvious signs of pollution and deterioration, things do not look that serious, and the planet could continue as it is for some time. Such evasiveness serves as a licence to carrying on with our present lifestyles and models of production and consumption. This is the way human beings contrive to feed their self-destructive vices: trying not to see them, trying not to acknowledge them, delaying the important decisions and pretending that nothing will happen.

VII. A VARIETY OF OPINIONS

60. Finally, we need to acknowledge that different approaches and lines of thought have emerged regarding this situation and its possible solutions. At one extreme, we find those who doggedly uphold the myth of progress and tell us that ecological problems will solve themselves simply with the application of new technology and without any need for ethical considerations or deep change. At the other extreme are those who view men and women and all their interventions as no more than a threat, jeopardizing the global ecosystem, and consequently the presence of human beings on the planet should be reduced and all forms of intervention prohibited. Viable future scenarios will have to be generated between these extremes, since there is no one path to a solution. This makes a variety of proposals possible, all capable of entering into dialogue with a view to developing comprehensive solutions.

61. On many concrete questions, the Church has no reason to offer a definitive opinion; she knows that honest debate must be encouraged among experts, while respecting divergent views. But we need only take a frank look at the facts to see that our common home is falling into serious disrepair. Hope would have us recognize that there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps, that we can always do something to solve our problems. Still, we can see signs that things are now reaching a breaking point, due to the rapid pace of change and degradation; these are evident in large-scale natural disasters as well as social and even financial crises, for the world’s problems cannot be analyzed or explained in isolation. There are regions now at high risk and, aside from all doomsday predictions, the present world system is certainly unsustainable from a number of points of view, for we have stopped thinking about the goals of human activity. “If we scan the regions of our planet, we immediately see that humanity has disappointed God’s expectations”.[35]

Weekly Digest

Welcome, EVERYONE!

Here's the lineup for the week at the Parish:

• Tuesday - Family Playgroup (10:30 am), Fatima Apostolate (7 pm), Choir Practice (7 pm)
• Thursday - Dad's Night Out (8 pm)
• Saturday - Confessions (3 pm)
• Sunday - BEGINNING OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK: Children's Choir Practice and Mass (arrive 8:15 am), Saint Agnes School Open House, Coffee and Donuts (after 9 am Mass in SAS School Hall), Adult Choir (10:30 am Mass), Presentation by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (6 pm, required for Confirmation students)

Catholic Schools Week is a celebration of  the Church's gift of a faith-filled education.  Come celebrate this mission with us!

Coffee hour this Sunday will occur in the Saint Agnes School Hall (not ACHS cafeteria), following the 9:00 am Mass. There will be coffee, donuts, and fellowship for everyone!  The school will also be hosting an Open House during that time, so that anyone may learn about the school and what it has to offer our community.

FALL 2016 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR OUR WONDERFUL PARISH SCHOOLS!

FIDELITY HOUSE - Preschool and Pre-K

SAINT AGNES GRAMMAR SCHOOL - Pre-K through Grade 8

ARLINGTON CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

Links to these websites are located at the top right-hand of the blog page.

When you invest and involve your family here, you can participate

in the evangelical mission and service of these community resources,

which are offered by - and in the long tradition of - our very own Catholic Church.

Financial Aid is available.  WOW!

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Saint Agnes Family Playgroup
The Saint Agnes Family group holds weekly Tuesday playgroups outdoors at nearby parks. We start at 10:30 am (but sometimes moms run late). You are welcome to join us! You can find the winter playgroup schedule here, or by clicking the link at the upper left of the blog home page.

This Tuesday, January 26th, we will meet at the Teel Street Playground (71 Teel Street) in Arlington. This park is very sunny, and we are supposed to have sun and 40 degrees tomorrow!  Put on your snow pants, bring your own lunch or snack and join us!

**NOTE THAT our outdoor winter schedule is highly dependent on good weather. If the weather seems questionable, please check your email or the blog page before you leave for playgroup. In case of rain or weather below 30 degrees, playgroup will be cancelled for the day. Thanks!**

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Dad's Night Out

Once a month from 8:00 - 9:30 pm, Saint Agnes welcomes parish dads to gather at Fusion Taste Restaurant, around the corner from the church (303 Broadway, Arlington). In January, the Dad's Group will meet on Thursday, January 28th. We will discuss relevant topics of careers, family, or just to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. For the first half hour we'll formally discuss short readings of interest, then catch up over beverages and dinner for the remaining time. The topic for January's discussion will be Contexts #1-2 of the "Into the Breach" document by Bishop Thomas Olmsted.  The link for the reading material is here. If you have questions, please email Justin Quattrini (Justin.Quattrini [at] gmail.com)

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Saint Agnes Children's Choir

Are you children interested in singing in the Children's Choir at Saint Agnes?  The children sing about once per month, and the printable schedule is posted here.  Encouraging your kids to be involved in the Mass is a wonderful way to foster their joy!  It also (helps) them to pay attention and to make new friends at church.  Join us!

More information and schedules can be found at the Music Ministry Website, www.AgnesMusic.net, or by emailing Michael Vaughan (mrv2022 [at] gmail.com).

Small Group Sign-Ups

Would you like to delve deeper into your learning and prayer life this Lent?  Saint Agnes is offering four small groups, which may be the perfect opportunity for you to meet other parishioners, strengthen your faith, and above all, get to know Christ in prayer.  Welcome!  Join us!

Saint Agnes Outreach program will offer small-group opportunities, beginning in Lent of 2016.  The easy sign-up form is posted on the Outreach blog, www.SaintAgnesParish.blogspot.com, and will be available January 17-February 7.  We hope that the interpersonal commitment of small faith groups will be a blessing to every participant, and lead you closer to God in reflection and prayer.  For this reason, we respectfully ask that you choose ONLY ONE small group in which to participate, while leaving alternate group spots open for others.  Small group sign-ups will happen semi-annually, giving you the chance to change groups later, if you choose. Groups will be limited to 8-10 participants, depending on the leader's discretion.  We also ask that you make a commitment to regular participation in the group's sessions for which you are signing up.

Symbolon Catholic Catechesis – led by Tom Harvey

• Weekly on Wednesdays, for 10 weeks
• 7:00-8:30 pm
• Parish Center, Corner Room
• This is a Men’s Group only
• 10 consecutive weeks, beginning in Lent: February 17-April 20
• By virtue of their baptism, all Catholics are called to be missionaries - to give witness to Christ via the Catholic faith. But we cannot effectively “give” without first “receiving.”  This men-only group will view the new video series, Symbolon, as a way to learn about the beauty and brilliance of Catholicism.
• Sign-ups are online at SaintAgnesParish.blogspot.com, or if you do not have a computer, please call Tom Harvey at 617-710-3616.

Sacred Music, Sacred Space – led by Marianne Fritz

• Weekly on Wednesdays, for 6 weeks
• 7:00-8:30 pm
• Meeting is TBD at a local residence, address given once sign-ups are completed.
• Mixed group and ages welcome
• 6 weeks, beginning in Lent: February 17-March 30 (no meeting on March 16)
• Together we will use various sacred music traditions in order to create a contemplative and meditative space for prayer.  No musical or vocal experience is necessary.
• Sign-ups are online at SaintAgnesParish.blogspot.com, or if you do not have a computer, please call or text Marianne Fritz at 617-335-0246.

History and Explanation of the Mass – led by Pat Harris

• Thursdays, for approximately 6 sessions
• 7:00-8:30 pm
• Parish Center, Corner Room (for the first meeting)
• Mixed group and ages welcome
• Future dates TBD depending on the schedules of group members
• First Meeting: February 11th, teaching about the Seder Meal
• For 2000 years, Mass has been the central prayer of Catholicism. We will first explore the roots of the Mass in the Passover Meal as celebrated by our Lord on Holy Thursday, then trace its evolution to the present form that we use today. Together we will experience our Catholic history through the lens of the Mass.
• Sign-ups are online at SaintAgnesParish.blogspot.com, or if you do not have a computer, please call Pat Harris at 781-820-0544 (please leave a message).

Life in the Spirit – led by Joan Connors

• Weekly on Wednesdays, for 8 weeks
• 7:00-8:30 pm
• Parish Center, Fireplace Room
• Mixed group and ages welcome
• 8 consecutive weeks, beginning in Lent: February 17-April 6
• True gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural virtues from which we are rewarded with spiritual fruits everyday (Galatians 5:22-23). This group will explore how the gifts of the Holy Spirit nourish us in our daily lives.
• Sign-ups are online at SaintAgnesParish.blogspot.com, or if you do not have a computer, please call Joan Connors at 781-646-3878.

Catholic Men's Conference Upcoming!

Catholic Men's Conference

focusing on the Holy Year of Mercy

Saturday, January 30th, 7:30 am-5:00 pm

Marriott Courtyard in Woburn

Keynote Speakers include:

• Ray Flynn, Former Mayor of Boston and Ambassador to the Vatican
• Father Roger Landry: Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations
• Father Eric Cadin: Assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston
• Scot Landry: President of Good Catholic Leadership Group

Seating is limited so please register ASAP

Registration is available at www.ccmen.weebly.com

Fore more info, call Greg Felden (978-210-2069)

or visit Facebook: “Courageous Catholic Men”

March for Life, and other Life News

Today, hundreds of thousands people from across America are gathering in Washington DC to affirm and pray for each person's right to his or her own life.

Please take a minute out of your day to offer a prayer to God the Creator of Life, that we might be better able to stand in awe of His creation, especially through our care for the Unborn, the poor, the elderly, and all those whose dignity we most often fail to recognize.

We also pray that God would forgive and heal our callousness, in the ways that we each contribute to this social sin through neglect, indifference, and prejudice.

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Can't make it to Washington DC?

Massachsuetts Citizens for Life is holding an

"Assembly for Life" on Sunday, January 24th

2:00-4:00 pm, Faneuil Hall in Boston

Click here for more Information

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Saint Agnes Parishioners for Life

will also be hosting a "Baby Shower"

on the weekends of

January 16-17 and January 23-24

for the needs of mothers and their babies.

A crib will be placed at the front of church to accept

your donations on these weekends.

Please make monetary donations in the form of a check, payable to "Fund for the Unborn."

See flyer below for specific needs.  While we accept donations throughout the year, we are asking for new items during the Baby Shower in order to give nice gifts to mothers in need of a real, welcoming, and supportive baby shower.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness!

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LOCAL Natural Family Planning

Attention Married Couples!  Would you like…

• a natural, hormone-free way to postpone pregnancy?
• to start a family or have another child?
• to improve communication with your spouse?
• to learn more about church teaching on "the Theology of the Body?"
• to understand why the Bishops were so unsettled by the HHS mandate?

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an organic, chemical-free method that is just as effective (99%) as the Pill at postponing pregnancy, and nearly twice as effective as IVF for achieving pregnancy.  The divorce rate among couples that practice NFP is less than 2%.

Do you want to learn more?  Josh and Meredith Phelps are certified teachers of a 3-class NFP series offered in our locale!  For sign-ups, details, or questions about dates, please email Meredith.Phelps [at] gmail.com.

For more information about NFP available from the diocese, you can checkout this webpage, or this brochure.

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Project Rachel

Project Rachel is a confidential Catholic outreach ministry offering healing, compassion and hope to women and men hurting from an abortion experience. People are available to listen, to answer questions, to pray for you, and to help in any way. Project Rachel can help begin the experience of forgiveness, freedom and peace waiting for you in the tender embrace of God’s love and mercy. The phone number for Project Rachel is 508-651-3100, email is help [at] ProjectRachelBoston.com, and the website is www.ProjectRachelBoston.com.  All inquiries are confidential.

How can we be PRO-life every day?

By maintaining a positive attitude towards others,

appreciating the unique person that God has created in each individual,

reaching out in kindness and compassion,

praying for the unborn, disabled and elderly,

and giving alms to the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable in our society.

“Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me.”Matthew 25:40

Weekly Digest

Welcome, EVERYONE!

Here's the lineup for the week at the Parish:

• Tuesday - Family Playgroup CANCELLED (10:30 am), Fatima Apostolate (7 pm), Choir Practice (7 pm)
• Thursday - Saint Dymphna Society (6:30 pm)
• Friday - 43rd Anniversary of Roe v. Wade Court Decision, Annual March for Life in Washington DC
• Saturday - BABY SHOWER Collection at all Masses, Confessions (3 pm)
• Sunday - BABY SHOWER Collection at all Masses, Coffee and Donuts (after 9 am Mass), Adult Choir (10:30 am Mass)

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Saint Agnes Family Playgroup - It looks like we will have to cancel playgroup for Tuesday, January 19th.  The temperature is predicted to be 25 degrees with 25 MPH winds.  Brr!!!  We hope to see you next Tuesday, weather permitting.

The Saint Agnes Family group holds weekly Tuesday playgroups outdoors at nearby parks. We start at 10:30 am (but sometimes moms run late). You are welcome to join us! You can find the winter playgroup schedule here, or by clicking the link at the upper left of the blog home page.

**NOTE THAT our outdoor winter schedule is highly dependent on good weather. If the weather seems questionable, please check your email or the blog page before you leave for playgroup. In case of rain or weather below 30 degrees, playgroup will be cancelled for the day. Thanks!**

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Saint Agnes Parishioners for Life

is hosting a "Baby Shower"

on the weekends of
January 16-17 and January 23-24
for the needs of mothers and their babies.

A crib will be placed at the front of church to accept
your donations on these weekends.
Please make monetary donations in the form of a check, payable to "Fund for the Unborn."

See flyer below for specific needs.  While we accept donations throughout the year, we are asking for new items during the Baby Shower in order to give nice gifts to mothers in need of a real, welcoming, and supportive baby shower.
Thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness!

Sunday: Respect Life Mass and Baby Shower

“Every Life is a Gift”
Respect Life Mass on Sunday, January 17th at 10:30 am

The Saint Agnes Parish Community will hold our annual Respect Life Mass on Sunday, January 17th at 10:30 am at Saint Agnes Church in Arlington. Please join us as we pray for a greater respect for all human life from conception until natural death. A reception with coffee and bagels/donuts will follow in the Arlington Catholic Library immediately adjacent to the Church.  Come and join us!  If you have any questions, please e-mail SAParishforLife [at] gmail.com.

We will also be hosting a "Baby Shower"
on the weekends of
January 16-17 and January 23-24
for the needs of mothers and their babies.

A crib will be placed at the front of church to accept
your donations on these weekends.
Please make monetary donations in the form of a check, payable to "Fund for the Unborn."

See flyer below for specific needs.  While we accept donations throughout the year, we are asking for new items during the Baby Shower in order to give nice gifts to mothers in need of a real, welcoming, and supportive baby shower.
Thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness!

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

LOCAL Natural Family Planning

Attention Married Couples!  Would you like…

• a natural, hormone-free way to postpone pregnancy?
• to start a family or have another child?
• to improve communication with your spouse?
• to learn more about church teaching on "the Theology of the Body?"
• to understand why the Bishops were so unsettled by the HHS mandate?

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an organic, chemical-free method that is just as effective (99%) as the Pill at postponing pregnancy, and nearly twice as effective as IVF for achieving pregnancy.  The divorce rate among couples that practice NFP is less than 2%.

Do you want to learn more?  Josh and Meredith Phelps are certified teachers of a 3-class NFP series offered in our locale!  For sign-ups, details, or questions about dates, please email Meredith.Phelps [at] gmail.com.

For more information about NFP available from the diocese, you can checkout this webpage, or this brochure.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Project Rachel

Project Rachel is a confidential Catholic outreach ministry offering healing, compassion and hope to women and men hurting from an abortion experience. People are available to listen, to answer questions, to pray for you, and to help in any way. Project Rachel can help begin the experience of forgiveness, freedom and peace waiting for you in the tender embrace of God’s love and mercy. The phone number for Project Rachel is 508-651-3100, email is help [at] ProjectRachelBoston.com, and the website is www.ProjectRachelBoston.com.  All inquiries are confidential.

“All life has inestimable value even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.”

-Pope Francis-

Let's Pray with the Pope!

Every month, the Pope publishes specific intentions and
invites the faithful to pray with him.
We have also been praying for them together at Mom's Nights.
Would you like to join in this worldwide offering?

In January, the intentions of Pope Francis are:

• Universal: That sincere dialogue among men and women of different faiths may produce the fruits of peace and justice.
• Evangelization: That by means of dialogue and fraternal charity, and with the grace of the Holy Spirit, Christians may overcome divisions.

Click Here:

Pope Francis is also using the "New Media"

to encourge people to pray in solidarity.

Wednesday: Explore Laudato Si!

It's a New Year!  What is new for you?  God can renew and refresh all of His creation, making "all things new" (Revelations, chapter 5).  Pope Francis is reminding us that as Christians, there's no time like the present to cast off our old selves and begin anew.  Continuing with our weekly excerpts of the pope's most recent encyclical, "Laudato Si" is posted here - so that we can all learn, digest, pray and discern one snippet at a time.  Come Holy Spirit, teach us and guide us, and may Your Will be done!

VI. WEAK RESPONSES

53. These situations have caused sister earth, along with all the abandoned of our world, to cry out, pleading that we take another course. Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two hundred years. Yet we are called to be instruments of God our Father, so that our planet might be what he desired when he created it and correspond with his plan for peace, beauty and fullness. The problem is that we still lack the culture needed to confront this crisis. We lack leadership capable of striking out on new paths and meeting the needs of the present with concern for all and without prejudice towards coming generations. The establishment of a legal framework which can set clear boundaries and ensure the protection of ecosystems has become indispensable; otherwise, the new power structures based on the techno-economic paradigm may overwhelm not only our politics but also freedom and justice.

54. It is remarkable how weak international political responses have been. The failure of global summits on the environment make it plain that our politics are subject to technology and finance. There are too many special interests, and economic interests easily end up trumping the common good and manipulating information so that their own plans will not be affected. The Aparecida Document urges that “the interests of economic groups which irrationally demolish sources of life should not prevail in dealing with natural resources”.[32] The alliance between the economy and technology ends up sidelining anything unrelated to its immediate interests. Consequently the most one can expect is superficial rhetoric, sporadic acts of philanthropy and perfunctory expressions of concern for the environment, whereas any genuine attempt by groups within society to introduce change is viewed as a nuisance based on romantic illusions or an obstacle to be circumvented.

55. Some countries are gradually making significant progress, developing more effective controls and working to combat corruption. People may well have a growing ecological sensitivity but it has not succeeded in changing their harmful habits of consumption which, rather than decreasing, appear to be growing all the more. A simple example is the increasing use and power of air-conditioning. The markets, which immediately benefit from sales, stimulate ever greater demand. An outsider looking at our world would be amazed at such behaviour, which at times appears self-destructive.

56. In the meantime, economic powers continue to justify the current global system where priority tends to be given to speculation and the pursuit of financial gain, which fail to take the context into account, let alone the effects on human dignity and the natural environment. Here we see how environmental deterioration and human and ethical degradation are closely linked. Many people will deny doing anything wrong because distractions constantly dull our consciousness of just how limited and finite our world really is. As a result, “whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenceless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule”.[33]

57. It is foreseeable that, once certain resources have been depleted, the scene will be set for new wars, albeit under the guise of noble claims. War always does grave harm to the environment and to the cultural riches of peoples, risks which are magnified when one considers nuclear arms and biological weapons. “Despite the international agreements which prohibit chemical, bacteriological and biological warfare, the fact is that laboratory research continues to develop new offensive weapons capable of altering the balance of nature”.[34] Politics must pay greater attention to foreseeing new conflicts and addressing the causes which can lead to them. But powerful financial interests prove most resistant to this effort, and political planning tends to lack breadth of vision. What would induce anyone, at this stage, to hold on to power only to be remembered for their inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary to do so?

58. In some countries, there are positive examples of environmental improvement: rivers, polluted for decades, have been cleaned up; native woodlands have been restored; landscapes have been beautified thanks to environmental renewal projects; beautiful buildings have been erected; advances have been made in the production of non-polluting energy and in the improvement of public transportation. These achievements do not solve global problems, but they do show that men and women are still capable of intervening positively. For all our limitations, gestures of generosity, solidarity and care cannot but well up within us, since we were made for love.

59. At the same time we can note the rise of a false or superficial ecology which bolsters complacency and a cheerful recklessness. As often occurs in periods of deep crisis which require bold decisions, we are tempted to think that what is happening is not entirely clear. Superficially, apart from a few obvious signs of pollution and deterioration, things do not look that serious, and the planet could continue as it is for some time. Such evasiveness serves as a licence to carrying on with our present lifestyles and models of production and consumption. This is the way human beings contrive to feed their self-destructive vices: trying not to see them, trying not to acknowledge them, delaying the important decisions and pretending that nothing will happen.